Rathdrum council tightens purchasing oversight and sets dollar thresholds after lengthy debate

Rathdrum — After more than an hour of questions and procedural debate, the City Council adopted an updated internal‑controls and purchasing resolution that clarifies the council’s role as the ultimate budget authority and adds fixed dollar thresholds for non‑budgeted purchases.

Finance director Jody told the council the revisions aim to balance operational efficiency with the council’s fiduciary oversight. “The budget is council’s ultimate authority in providing… department heads funds — in doing so you are authorizing department heads to spend,” Jody said, explaining the policy changes that direct staff to bring certain transfers and non‑budgeted purchases to council.

Council members pressed for clearer guardrails and sought numbers that reflect each department’s needs. Officials noted practical obstacles: invoice posting and journalizing in the city’s accounting software create a two‑ to three‑week lag between invoice approval and posted ledger changes, making real‑time line‑item checks difficult. Several members recommended layered signature authority rather than a single threshold to give smaller departments appropriate oversight without undue administrative burden.

After discussion the council approved an amended motion setting a stepped approval scheme for non‑budgeted purchases funded by realized savings: the city administrator may approve transfers up to $10,000, the mayor may approve up to $20,000 and council authorization is required for amounts exceeding $30,000. The motion also reaffirmed that state procurement thresholds and other statutory requirements remain in force.

What this means: Department heads retain authority to manage budgeted line items; unplanned, non‑budgeted purchases funded from savings now require higher‑level sign‑off depending on the dollar amount. Staff will return with examples and procedural clarifications to reduce administrative overhead and to improve tracking of pending expenditures so department heads can better see available balances.

Quotable: “Invoices are only posted to the general ledger before these council meetings…there’s a lag time that could cause us to unintentionally violate our policy,” Jody said, urging practical safeguards.